Going over everyone’s books today, I started singing my latest earworm:
Wonder, wonder who – who wrote the book of love?
Chapter One says to love her
You love her with all your heart
Chapter Two you tell her
You’re never, never, never, never, ever gonna part
In Chapter Three remember the meaning of romance
In Chapter Four you break up
But you give her just one more chance
LOL – enjoy our current BOOK OF LOVE list!
BJ
Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
Caz
Narrated by Sean Crisden
Em
Narrated by Kate Reading
Kaetrin
Narrated by Samantha Brentmoor
Melinda
Narrated by Emma Wilder and Tom Janson
Shannon
Narrated by Cris Dukeheart
After ditching *Stay by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy about halfway though last Friday, I went on the listen to:
British Bedmate by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland. Narrated by Zachary Webber and Andi Arndt. The narrations were great. The story so-so. The big conflict/reveal in the second half took this from a 4 to a 3 star story.
To Sir Philip, With Love by Julia Quinn. Narrated by Rosalyn Landor. This is a very good book, but I was uncomfortable with the portrayal of mental illness by the end of the book, which made me sad.
Dair Devil by Lucinda Brant, narrated by Alex Wyndham. I loved it. ’nuff said.
The Sexy One by Lauren Blakely, narrated by Sebastian York and Andi Arndt. Good narration, fluffy story without much real story. Short and sweet.
Not sure what I’ll listen to next.
*I loved the Him series by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy, but the off shoot series (WAGs- wives and girlfriends) wasnot great.After the incredible way they wrote the two leads for Him, I was so disappointed that they female leads of both Good Boy and Stay were such anxious women.
I find so many of the big-hitter contemps all sound the same when you read the synopses – I’m sure there are some that rise above the annoying “I saw him/He did this” “I saw her/She did that” blurbs, but mostly, they all start to sound the same after a while!
Well said. I’ve given several a change because they were free on AE, but I won’t be spending any credits on these authors. The only ones I’ve really enjoyed are the HIM books. I would listen to those again. I think you have mentioned before that m/m books are working better right now, and I’ve been trying to figure out why that’s been true for me, too. One point of clarity came to me when I tried the WAGs books by Bowen and Kennedy, an offshoot of the HIM series. These are m/f, and the female leads are both anxious individuals. Both male leads were a little pushy. And while I wouldn’t necessarily say there is a power dynamic problem, it does feel sort of like that. After listening to several others (listed above) I came away with the feeling that m/f contemporaries suffer from a certain residual sexism, or definition of gender roles, even when I know the authors don’t mean it to be that way. Really EQUAL partnerships are hard to write in m/f books without the female being written as “fiercely independent” , or as a snarky ball-buster. Even in my favorite of the ones above, Grace in TEMPORARY is still stuck in a situation with an uneven power dynamic and she’s the one unsure of herself.
Sexy contemporaries feel a little shallow and small town contemporaries are still too saccharine for me. And they all eel like reruns. It’s why I went the romantic suspense route early on in my contemporary romance reading.
For me, I think it’s also because small town USA is so very different from small town UK, and I find those sorts of stories really difficult to identify with. I, too, started to pick up romantic suspense once I started to drift away from historicals, and while I pick up the odd m/f contemporary, they tend to be books that speak to me in some particular way, such as being set in London (Lucy Parker) or in fandom (Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert). But I’ll read small town or more “general” contemps in m/m. I think you’ve got a good point about the dynamic and left-over sexism; I also can’t help wondering if it’s because there’s a (perceived?) different attitude to sex.
small pivot: “small town USA is so very different from small town UK,” – I’m sure that’s true, but small town USA is nothing like small towns in small town romance either. I grew up in one and as an adult lived in another. Never going back to either one. They are not the overall caring community with lovable kooky characters portrayed in romance. Would that they were.
I started reading HIM last night and am enjoying it so far.
I’ve moved to reading mainly m/m now as well and I’ve been thinking about why that is.
When I’m deciding which book to read next, I find that the f/m books just don’t seem compelling. I’m 65 and have read a lot of romance/chick lit throughout my life – I find that the stories/plots etc haven’t really moved on – there’s more explicitly written sex, obviously, and the MC may now work for a tech company rather than be an air stewardess (!) but they are still angsting about the same things. Which is, I think, where the power dynamic you mention comes in – I would have hoped that it had shifted more since I was a young woman.
I’ve particularly enjoyed the m/m suspense books that I’ve read this year, as well as some contemporary, as there seem to be some great writers currently publishing. I think in my case, though, I’m attracted to the m/m books because they’re different from the books that I’ve read throughout my life.
“I find that the stories/plots etc haven’t really moved on–”
This! This is a big part of it. The female leads may be in more powerful lines of work or more independent, but the plots still revolve around a lot of the same tropes, and perhaps more importantly, the same emotional responses. As you said, “they are still angsting about the same things.”
If we can have m/m books without this, it seems we should be able to write m/f stories that go beyond it. I know there are some, but not as many as I’d like.
I think m/m romantic suspense in particular is incredibly strong right now. I think this may partly be because most of the good stuff are series books featuring the same couple so there’s time to build a relationship. Even if the characters jump into bed early on, there’s still plenty of relationship development going on. But the vast majority of m/f RS are standalones, and there aren’t that many authors who can get the balance right and make it work properly in a single volume.
Is there also more of an acceptance among m/m readers that the characters may have sexual encounters with other characters (on page) before the HEA, whereas heroines are generally disliked if they go to bed with anyone other than the hero once they’ve met each other?
I’ve had very little listening time again this week.
I’m still persisting with ‘Finding Joy’ by Adriana Herrera but, sadly, it has failed to ignite so far. I LOVED this book when I read it but, 6 chapters in, I’m finding the audiobook really slow. The narrator’s characterisation of the POV MC just seems off to me – his wry, self-deprecating humour is not coming across and he just seems breathy and naive. He’s supposed to be emotional but he’s an experienced aid-worker, not an awe-struck young kid! There also seems something weird with the phrasing………………….
I may have to revert back to reading it!
Damn – I’ve got a review copy of the Herrara. I haven’t started it yet although it’ll be soon… maybe it’ll improve…?
I’ll be interested in what you think, Caz. I would prefer it if you liked it, as it’s such a sweet book and doesn’t seem to have got much attention.
I seem to be having real issues with narrations at the moment. It was much simpler when I was listening to m/f HRs – you know exactly what you’re getting with Kate Reading, Rosalyn Landor and Alex Wyndham – quality!
I think it’s natural that the more we do something – in this case listen to audiobooks – the more discerning we become. I know I have favourably reviewed narrators here that I can no longer listen to. Sadly, so much HR right now is being recorded by sub-par narrators and those names you mention are coming around less and less often :(
Melinda, I can’t find a way to reply directly to your comment, so… I’m sure that’s the case with small town/village UK, as well. We’re nothing like Midsomer Murders!
I have to agree with Melinda; small towns IRL are vastly different than the ones in romance novels. Just like any other community, there is a cross-section of crazy, of petty, of judgemental, of hippies, of criminals, of middle class, of rich folks, poor folks, and on and on. The cute diners and quirky bars and sexy librarians and hot cops are not much in evidence. And many small towns are now just bedroom communities anyway, so neighbors hardly know each other. I love the nostalgia for the small town of the 1950s, but I live in a small town today and it’s nothing like that at all.